


demon's words | 妖言

by bonsaitree



Category: Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù
Genre: Bromance, Gen, Non-English Source, Post-Canon, Spoilers, Translation, regarding the golden core business so be warned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-25
Updated: 2018-10-25
Packaged: 2019-08-07 07:20:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16403852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bonsaitree/pseuds/bonsaitree
Summary: “Lan Wangji waited thirteen years for love.  I waited thirteen years only for an answer. Our promised Yunmeng Shuangjie…was it just my wishful thinking?”This is an English translation, with permission. Original: http://mangguoqiaokeli625.lofter.com/post/1f9c9d28_12b1021a0





	demon's words | 妖言

**Author's Note:**

> Original here: [http://mangguoqiaokeli625.lofter.com/post/1f9c9d28_12b1021a0 ](http://mangguoqiaokeli625.lofter.com/post/1f9c9d28_12b1021a0)
> 
> The title comes from a Chinese proverb "妖言惑众 / yao yan huo zhong" which refers to tricking and misleading the masses using deceptive words.
> 
> The term “道士 / daoshi” is used. It’s the same as “daozhang” (e.g. Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan) except I think “daozhang” is actually a more formal/polite way of address? I don’t know if the English translation of mdzs uses “taoist” instead, but for some reason I don’t really like that word so I stuck with “daoshi”. 
> 
> Any places marked with a * will have notes at the end.

01.

 “Still a crybaby at your age, eh?”

Jin Ling was thrown onto the shore, startled, as he heard Wei Wuxian’s cheerful, teasing voice.

Then, the voice’s owner, along with the boat he was standing on, disappeared beneath the water.     

 

. 

 

This night hunt started out with nothing out of the ordinary.

Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen were preoccupied with business and had been temporarily called away from the Cloud Recesses. In the meantime, a bored Wei Wuxian volunteered to take the young disciples night hunting around Caiyi Town. On the way, they met Jin Ling who was travelling alone, looking for something, and decided to bring him along.  

In these parts, one often heard a dream-like song emanating from the water. There were already seven people who disappeared after hearing this song.

Wei Wuxian became the eighth.

 

 

02.

“You are a daoshi?”

White steam rising from the hot tea muffled the words coming from across the table. Wei Wuxian, bored out of his mind, answered carelessly. 

“Yeah.” 

 “The person I’m waiting for is also a daoshi. ” The merman’s, Wu Xin’s*, voice sounded almost nonexistent, but Wei Wuxian’s attention was perked.

“Wait, so you’re saying the reason you kidnapped all these people is only to search for someone?”   

“What’s the problem?” The merman sipped his tea. “I didn’t hurt any of them and I let them go in the end.”

“Then can you do me a favour and release me as well? Those brats outside are waiting for me!” Wei Wuxian raised a brow. “How ‘bout you tell me the name of that person and I’ll help you search?”

Wu Xin remained silent.

Wei Wuxian grumbled, “Why are you so alike my husband? Both of you are men of few words. Abducting me while my man isn’t around…hey, you haven’t taken a liking to me, have you?” 

His words were aimed to anger; this merman looked to be very prim and proper so Wei Wuxian held a hope that he could bother Wu Xin enough to let him go.

“…” Wu Xin choked on his mouthful of tea and coughed for a good while before replying, seeming lost for words. “Young master, I do not…have any such inclinations.”*

“That said, does the person you speak of know that you’re waiting for him?”

Wu Xin’s movements stilled.

“He does not need to know.”

“Oh?” Wei Wuxian said, disbelieving. “Then isn’t your waiting a fruitless effort?”

“…Perhaps. After all, the reason he lost his life…was because of me.”

 

 

03.

Long ago, there was a mountain. On the mountain, there was a temple. In the temple was a daoshi. There was a river that flowed through this mountain, connecting to the sea. The daoshi would come to the riverbank every day to collect all sorts of things – mushrooms, wild fruits and the like. He even ended up collecting an injured merman trapped in the shallows.

This merman was quite young but was already privy to the human capacity for evil. Thus, he was hiding at the bottom of the riverbed, trembling and refusing to look at the daoshi.

Despite this, the daoshi had a naturally friendly disposition, keeping up a stream of chatter while he prepared a large water-filled tub and deposited the merman into said tub. The water, which was refreshed daily, was also filled with all kinds of herbs to tend to the merman’s injuries.  

Over time, the little merman slowly warmed up to him. Every day, when the daoshi would leave to pick fruits or run errands in the nearby town, the merman waited for him by the side of his tub.

One day, the daoshi did not return.

What came in his stead was group of officials wearing robes embroidered with the python pattern representing their station*. Their leader, robes adorned with the royal dragon, scrutinized the merman and smiled.

…According to legend, medicine made from blood of merpeople could unlock immortality.  

Of course, the little merman was unwilling to cooperate – the expression of the man wearing the dragon robe immediately turned ominous. He spoke, half in anger, half threatening.

“That daoshi of yours is in my hands. Either you wait for him to die, or you trade your life for his!”

 

 

04.

“That merman was you?” Wei Wuxian asked slowly. Wu Xin nodded.

Since the merman was here, that meant the daoshi must be dead.

“You don’t think I went to save him?”

Wu Xin observed Wei Wuxian’s undecipherable expression and said lightly, “At the time, I did think of exchanging his life with mine. But that daoshi still died.” The last words were quiet.

“He was not even a daoshi; rather he was a snake demon who had been cultivating for a long time.”

“He had already obtained the core needed to become a celestial.* When the emperor proposed the trade for his life, he had no intention of following through. The daoshi’s celestial core had long since been extracted.  

“When I reached the place where he was being held, he was unconscious, yet he was still mumbling for me to leave. I removed my own core and gave it to him.”

“His value as an ingredient to immortality was depleted and the emperor let him go. But that idiot battled his way back, just as I was about to be skinned alive, and transferred his remaining life force to me.

“And he…as the consequence of hurting mortals and betraying the heavenly order…his soul was scattered into nothing.”

 

 

05.

“…” The usually quick-witted Wei Wuxian had nothing to say. People were always like this; as they listen to stories, they cannot help but connect it back to themselves.

Wei Wuxian’s soul had also been scattered, taking a round trip to the gates of the afterlife*. Except, he had someone waiting for him, keeping him company. Truly, he was much more fortunate than this merman.  

But, a strange, unidentifiable feeling rose up.

“Did the daoshi know you gave him your core?” 

“Does it make a difference?” Wu Xin cocked his head. “The reality is that he died because of me and yet without him, I would not have this never-ending lifespan.”

“Have you been here this entire time?” Wei Wuxian hurriedly interrupted him. “These parts belong to Yunmeng; did no one ever notice the demonic energy?”

“Of course. I have been captured before.” Wu Xin stared at him doubtfully. “It was Sect Leader Jiang who released me back here.”

 

 

08.

“It was something like, we had similar experiences so he was able to empathize with me, I suppose.”

 

 

09.

“By the way, I hear Sect Leader Jiang is also waiting for someone. Do you know who it is?”

 

 

10.

Wei Wuxian was stunned. “Jiang Cheng…you said he had the same experience?”

Wu Xin nodded. “You didn’t know?” He lazily put down his tea cup. “Never mind, there is no way you would know.”

“The people all know Sect Leader Jiang’s golden core was given to him by his, at the time, childhood friend. But, is there anyone in the world who knows for whom his golden core was lost?”

 

 

11.

After the events in the guanyin temple, Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng, by mutual unspoken agreement, never again brought up those excruciatingly painful bygones. Now, as those memories were dug up again, and by a stranger no less, they really seemed a world away.

Wu Xin casually conjured a mirror made of water. The images that appeared on the surface depicted a life story – Jiang Cheng’s. 

The story played out through Jiang Cheng’s eyes, beginning from that long-past night when he lost his footing and fell into a ditch while searching for Wei Wuxian. After that was the grandiose spectacle of the hundred sects’ hunt gathering, arriving side by side before the onlookers. Then, it was the fall of the Jiang sect and the following desperate days on the run.  

Wei Wuxian stood in front of the mirror, watching the little Wei Wuxian run. Soon after, some Wen sect disciples appeared, tracking his movements and chasing after him. Unexpectedly, the field of vision changed as the young Jiang Cheng purposefully revealed himself in front of those Wen disciples. The Wen disciples were successfully distracted and left to chase after him instead.  

When Jiang Cheng lost his golden core, Wei Wuxian had not been there. Many years later, watching through the barrier of a mirror, Wei Wuxian could not explain the feeling in his chest. 

The self-proclaimed repayment of debt, what seemed to be an earth-shattering favour…in this moment, all of it had become nothing but a huge joke. 

In a split second, Wei Wuxian realized what Jiang Cheng had wanted to say that night in the guanyin temple. But Jiang Cheng hadn’t said anything in the end, just like how he swore on his life not to tell Jiang Cheng the truth of his golden core.

They both understood each other too well, to the point of preferring to suffer horribly rather than admitting what they sacrificed silently for the other. 

As the mirror’s images reached their conclusion, the Jiang Cheng within spoke, his voice raspy.

_“There’s nothing to say.”_

 

12.

“Young master?” Wu Xin’s words were wispy like an illusion. He handed over a shark silk* handkerchief. “You…are crying?”

“Let me out!” Wei Wuxian turned his head violently. “I’m going to find Jiang Cheng!”

 

 

13.

“If you want to look for him,” Wu Xin turned towards a silhouette outside the hall, drawing ever closer, “then, he has already arrived.”

 

 

14.

There was a person following behind Jiang Cheng – someone wearing daoshi robes. This time, it was Wu Xin’s turn to be stunned.

The daoshi was still as friendly as ever. “Yo, little merman, why are you blanked out? I’m back!”

The corners of Wu Xin’s mouth twitched. Before he could speak, a dark blur flew past him. In an impressive feat, that figure launched itself at Jiang Cheng.

 

 

15.

 “Get off me!” Jiang Cheng yelled, trying his hardest to pry off the hands which had locked on his shoulders in a deadly grip. The owner of those hands hung off Jiang Cheng’s body, pretty much fully wrapped around him.

Wei Wuxian had buried his face in the crook of Jiang Cheng’s shoulder. After a moment, Jiang Cheng heard a choked, “Jiang Cheng…I was wrong…”

“Wei Wuxian, what’s wrong with you now?!” Jiang Cheng wore an air of impatience yet he was no longer trying to shake off Wei Wuxian.

“I’m sorry…you went through so much…”

“Huh?” Jiang Cheng cast a suspicious glance at Wu Xin and received a small smile in return.

“I’m sorry. I made you wait for me all these years…”

Jiang Cheng scoffed. “You think I wanted to wait for you?” He continued coldly, “You think too highly of yourself!”

“Lan Wangji waited thirteen years for love.  I waited thirteen years only for an answer. Our promised Yunmeng Shuangjie…was it just my wishful thinking?”

“It wasn’t!” Wei Wuxian straightened, fixing his gaze on Jiang Cheng. “It never was!”

He closed his fingers around Jiang Cheng’s wrist in a determined grasp. “Jiang Cheng…I want to go back to Yunmeng. I want the whole world to know that Yunmeng Shuangjie wasn’t just your wishful thinking, that it could never be just that.”

“A lifetime ago, we missed so many things, passed so many things by. Are you willing to…trust in me this once?” Wei Wuxian reached out with his other hand. 

Jiang Cheng remained frozen where he stood. Seconds trickled by. 

Then, Jiang Cheng lifted his own hand and rested it lightly on Wei Wuxian’s. He wrapped an arm around Wei Wuxian’s shoulders, just the same as how a young Wei Wuxian used to do to him, and replied firmly.   

“Mn.”

 

 

end.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at translating so feel free (please) give feedback. My approach was not to prioritize direct translation, but rather I tried to capture the meaning and feelings of the original text. So, while I try to stick with the original as closely as possible (in terms of sentence structure and grammar), I do take some creative liberties. 
> 
> * **Wu Xin / 无心** : the direct translation of this name is “heartless” (无 = no/none + 心 = heart)
> 
> *When Wu Xin refers to **“inclinations”** towards the same sex, he uses the term “龙阳之癖/long yang zhi pi”. I didn’t search this one up, but I’m pretty sure it is a euphemism for homosexuality, similar to “cutsleeve”. Correct me if I’m wrong. 
> 
> * **Python patterned robes** : these were apparently worn by (and restricted to) government officials. Also, only emperors/kings were allowed to wear dragon-embroidered robes so it would be easily identifiable. 
> 
> * **“core needed to become a celestial”/celestial core** : this is not the same as a golden core. The term used was “仙骨/xian gu” which is literally “heavenly/celestial” (xian) + “bone” (gu). **azure7539** in the comments kindly clarified for me the difference between "xian gu" and "jindan"/golden core: golden cores are for human cultivators while xian gu is for non-humans, commonly animal spirits and demons, etc. (in this case, the merman Wu Xin and the snake demon daoshi). Though, they both serve the same purpose -- they are the energy source to be cultivated in order to reach ascension/immortality.  
>  When Wu Xin says he gave his “core” to the daoshi, he said “骨头/gu tou” which is literally just “bones” so to be consistent I used “core”. Not sure if this is correct, but it’s not really relevant to the story anyways. 
> 
> * **Afterlife** : “黄泉/huang quan”
> 
> * **Shark silk** : not sure about this one; the term is “鲛丝/jiao si” which is apparently some mythical waterproof material made of shark (jiao) wire/silk (si)
> 
> Come visit me on...  
> tumblr: [gravitydefyingtears](http://gravitydefyingtears.tumblr.com)  
> twitter: [@radishtears](https://twitter.com/radishtears).


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